GDHQNHL15_2pg-Colorado Avalanche 1

Minnesota Wild Gameday HQ

Colorado
AVALANCHE WESTERN CONFERENCE
Key Acquisitions:
C Daniel Briere, RW Jerome
Iginla, RW Jesse Winchester, D
Brad Stuart
Key Losses:
C Paul Stastny, RW P.A.
Parenteau, D Matt Hunwick, G
Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Strengths:
Multiple elite-level forwards and
a Vezina-caliber goaltender lead
the way.
Weaknesses:
Penalty kill strategy needs to
improve.
Offense
What is a team to do that loses their No. 1 center in free agency?
The Avalanche answered this loss by bringing in a surefire Hall of Famer
in RW Jarome Iginla. The 37-year-old was brought in to provide veteran
leadership and playoff experience after a year with the Boston Bruins in
which he scored 61 points (30 goals, 31 assists). The Avalanche are hoping
that he can continue to play at an elite level after giving him a 3-year, $16
million deal this offseason.
Even with the loss of Paul Stastny, the cupboard isn’t bare in the
Colorado lineup. The Avalanche top-four point producers from last
season were all 23 and under. Patrick Roy’s team is centered around
young forwards C Matt Duchene (23 goals, 47 assists), LW Gabriel
Landeskog (26 goals, 39 assists), RW Ryan O’Reilly (28 goals, 36 assists) and
rookie sensation C Nathan MacKinnon (24 goals, 39 assists).
The 2013 first-overall draft pick MacKinnon made the leap to the
NHL without any time in the minors, an impressive feat for any player,
especially a now 19-year-old straight out of junior hockey. Even with a
big year last season, the second-year player was out of position on the
wing in his rookie campaign. Colorado is looking for more production out
of MacKinnon now that he is returning to his natural center position.
In Duchene and Landeskog, the Avalanche has a young leadership
group that’s hungry to win. In his first taste of playoff hockey, Landeskog
compiled three goals in the series against Minnesota. Duchene played
only two games this past playoff year, but he registered three points in
those contests. It was a learning process for these young players, but
they will surely use the experience they have gained to try and lead their
Defense
Erik Johnson is the ox that makes this defensive plow move. His
defensive play has steadily improved over the last few seasons and has
culminated in a career high plus/minus of +5 in 2013-14. He also tied a
career high in points, with 39, and set a new career high in assists as he
had a hand in 30 goals last season. The Avalanche management is hoping
these are the first steps of Johnson moving towards fulfilling the promise
of being a former first-overall pick.
The big move on defense this offseason was bringing in free-agent
import Brad Stuart over from the San Jose Sharks. Executive vice
president and general manager Joe Sakic described Stuart as “a proven,
CENTRAL DIVISION
Semyon Varlamov
Bruce Kluckhohn/NHL/Getty Images